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If you’ve watched a Cadillac commercial in the last four to five months, you’ve probably heard ‘1901’ thumping along as the latest model spills down the road.  Last May when Phoenix was released, this French quartet, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, created a bit of buzz for that single, and it was all I heard on the radio.  Truth be told I hated the song at first, but a mix of the commercials and then a compilation with ‘1901’ on it changed my mind a few weeks ago.

The first two tracks, recent single ‘Lisztomania’ and ‘1901’ are wonderful and grab you in at the onset.  If you can get past those two, then you should listen closely to the whole album.  There are some simple moments of pop and electronic influence spinning around well-written lyrics that are not boastful at all.  You may not understand what is being said on ‘1901’, but the chorus is very easy to remember and infectious at the same time.

‘Love Like a Sunset Part 1’, an instrumental, has a guitar part, which reminded me of something Pete Townsend would have done on an early song by The Who.  Other highlights included ‘Lasso’, ‘Girlfriend’ and ‘Armistice’.  Each song has a catchy drumbeat, fuzzy bass and some distortion on your guitars.

I can see why many people found solace in this album, and once again, I wish I had picked this up earlier.  This kind of music is made so you feel good, which is how I felt all last week.  Don’t make the mistakes I did, just go out and get something that is pop but not popular.